HVAC SYSTEM TYPES

HVAC system is comprised of one or more distinct components. Some components are very
complicated and contain many pre-manufactured systems and controls, while other
components are very simple and contain no moving parts. Every component in a mechanical
system can be classified into one of the following four categories: Cooling and heating
production equipment, distribution components, terminal units, or packaged units.

Energy production/rejection components are pieces of equipment which perform an energy

conversion in order to produce or reject heat. Typically, these components are not located
in the zone which they serve, or they serve multiple zones. In either case, distribution
components are required to transport the given service from the energy
production/rejection component to the zone in which it is required. Once there, terminal
units are required in each zone in order to control the delivery of the service to the zone.

Although not always required, both supply and return distribution components are often
included as part of balancing and controlling the given service within the zone.
Additionally, in some cases there are multiple energy production/rejection components
connected to each other via distribution components in order to provide a given system
function or set of functions.

Packaged terminal units often contain some combination of energy production/rejection

components and distribution components, and must contain a terminal unit. By virtue of
their terminal unit inclusion, they are located within the zone they serve and are purchased
as self contained prefabricated units.

Thermal Fluid

The thermal fluid is the fluid used to convey thermal energy between the energy
production/rejection component(s) and terminal units via the distribution components in
any system providing heating and or cooling. This fluid can be water, air, or refrigerant
depending on the system in question. Unlike other functions which have a predefined
medium, such as air for ventilation, the choice of thermal transport fluid for heating and
cooling must be made carefully. Each fluid has its associated advantages and disadvantages
as highlighted in Table below:

Fluid Advantages Disadvantages

Air - As ventilation is required, - Ducts take up large amounts of

some form of mechanical
ventilation system likely
already exists as part of the
building design which can be
additionally purposed to
provide heating and cooling.
- Easier to achieve well-mixed
air temperatures within
conditioned space.
- Less skill and effort required
to produce ductwork.
floor and ceiling area if sized
appropriately to minimize noise
and fluid velocity.
- Complete fluid flow control is
much more difficult to achieve
than with other fluids as air
loops are open.
- The heat capacity of air is
relatively low.
- Moving air at higher pressure
differentials through smaller
ducts is energy intensive.
Water - Piping takes up substantially
less area than ductwork.
- Pumps tend to be more
efficient than fans as water is
considered to be
incompressible.
- Water has one of the highest
heat capacities of any liquid.
- A separate air conveying system
is still required to meet
ventilation requirements.
- Terminal units – with the
exception of radiant panels –
take up more suite area than air
terminal units.
- Leaks are costlier to repair than
in air based systems.

Refrigerant - Piping takes up substantially - Can only be used in split

less area than ductwork.
- Refrigerant acts both as the
transport medium and the
working fluid in the vapour
compression refrigeration
cycle.
systems, with specific
mini/multi-split terminal units.
- Scale of system is often limited
to a maximum of room-by-room,
requiring an outdoor
compressor unit for every
room/space.
- High level of skill and effort
required for piping.
- Leaks are costlier to repair than
in air based systems, and many
common refrigerants have
significant global warming
potential.

Once the mechanical system functions have been identified, the choices of layout, control
scheme, fuel type, and thermal transport fluid all represent high level mechanical design
decisions which form the structure of subsequent system and equipment selections.
Thermal Comfort Systems

Thermal comfort systems provide heating, cooling, or heating and cooling, along with
potentially providing a combination of other functions. While fuel types and distribution
layouts varied throughout the simulations, the heating and cooling systems chosen to be
modelled generally fell into one of the following categories: electric resistance heating, in-
suite Air Handling Units (AHUs), Fan-coil Units (FCUs) and convectors, radiant panels,
Packaged Terminal Air Conditioners (PTACs) and Packaged Terminal Heat Pumps (PTHPs),
and Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) heat pumps.

Electric Resistance Heating

Electric resistance heating is very common in only a few areas of North America (e.g. the
Pacific Northwest), and can take on many physical forms.

These include radiant panels, and electric furnaces, but the focus of this section will be
electric baseboard convectors as these are the most common type of residential electric
resistance heating. From a thermodynamic perspective, all of these technologies are more
or less equivalent in that heat is generated by passing an electric current through a resistive
medium, a process which has a thermal efficiency of 100%. Electric baseboards offer low
capital and maintenance costs due to their lack of moving parts, combustion equipment, or
distribution components. Operational costs, however, vary by location, as do energy
consumption and GHG emissions.

Electric baseboards are only capable of providing space heating and no other functions.
Units are typically located along exterior walls, under fenestrations to prevent condensation
and make up perimeter losses, with separate units for each zone served. The zonal nature of
the simple controls can allow for heating to operate only in occupied areas of a suite, which
can result in energy savings of up to 20% as compared to conditioning all interior space (US
Department of Energy, 2016).

Physically, electric baseboards do require space within the zones they serve, which can
negatively impact interior aesthetics and requires suite access for maintenance in the rare
occasion that it is required. The footprint of each baseboard is relatively modest, and due to
the lack of moving parts, baseboards have little impact on acoustics.

In-suite Air Handling Units

In-suite air handling units (AHUs) take the concept of forced air heating and cooling
common single-family low-rise housing, and implement it on a suite-by-suite basis in multi
unit residential buildings. The heating technology may be a natural gas or electric furnace,
or an air or water source heat pump. In all cases, conditioned air is transported from a
central unit – typically located in a perimeter mechanical closet directly vented to the
exterior – to each zone of the suite via ductwork. While cooling is not necessarily required in
these systems, the ability to easily add cooling and other functions is one of the major
advantages these systems offer over electric baseboards or radiant floors (see Section
2.5.1.4). As such, in-suite AHUs can provide heating, cooling, and filtration, with
dehumidification occurring only during cooling operation, and provision for humidification
possible but often not included.

In practice, packaged units containing the heating and cooling equipment along with
distribution fans and filters are produced by many manufacturers. Those implementing
warm air furnaces with direct expansion cooling or air source heat pumps are completely
self contained, and do not rely on any other plant equipment.

All in-suite AHUs require distribution ductwork to be installed throughout each suite,
although ductwork tends to be limited and simple given that most suites are compact. Even
so, ductwork can add distribution energy, duct losses, and acoustic concerns if not sized
properly (John, 2014; Zimmerman, 2013). Additionally, the throw of air terminal units must
be carefully specified to not negatively impact thermal comfort, and the placement of ducts
must be coordinated with the reflected ceiling plan of each suite.

The requirement for in-suite ductwork can lead to moderate installation costs as compared
to electric baseboards, but the total capital and maintenance costs are somewhat
dependant on the type of energy production/rejection equipment. Furthermore, if not
already part of the budget, plumbing natural gas to each suite represents a substantial
incremental cost. Electric resistance heating, as previously discussed, will have lower
installation and maintenance costs than combustion equipment. With added complexity,
the skill level required and cost of maintenance tends to increase, and this is even more
relevant to heat pump based systems.

As these units are located in conditioned space, furnaces are classified as non weatherised
and can achieve higher efficiencies than weatherized units as jacket losses usually provide
useful heat gain to the spaces they are located in. This does however mean that proper air
supply and exhaust is required for combustion equipment, and access to outdoor air is
required for heat rejection and collection when implementing vapor compression
refrigeration equipment. Properly designing the combustion gas venting is very important to
ensure proper system performance without compromising indoor air quality. These added
penetrations through the building enclosure are often quite large, and can create difficulties
with respect to detailing the continuity of enclosure control layers. The overall heating and
cooling efficiency of the system (based on site energy use, not always source energy) is
largely dependent on the type of energy production/rejection equipment selected, with
heat pumps offering the highest efficiencies, followed by electric resistance heating and
lastly condensing natural gas furnaces. Air source heat pumps can only operate to a set
minimum outdoor air temperature below which system performance drops off.

In the past, this temperature was high enough that most heat pump systems in cold
climates required backup electrical heating, but a growing number of systems have
sufficient capacity and efficiency to obviate the need for backup heating. While the heating
fuel source may be natural gas or electricity, all systems require electricity for cooling as
well as fan energy for circulation – something which can account for a non-trivial amount of
annual energy consumption.

Control strategies for in-suite AHUs tend to be fairly rudimentary, with one thermostat
located in a central location, and balanced delivery of air to all zones in the suite. This limits
the ability to provide zone level control, but such control is rarely required in modestly sized
suites, and the single thermostat greatly simplifies installation, commissioning, operation,
and maintenance.

Hydronic Fan Coil Units and Convectors

Hydronic systems typically involve boilers and chillers which transport energy using water to
hydronic terminal units located within conditioned spaces. Fan coil units (FCUs) and
convectors are both examples of hydronic terminal units, and both are available in a few
different forms. Hydronic convectors can only provide heating, but fan coil units can provide
heating and cooling if energy rejection components such as chillers are incorporated into
the system design.
Fan coil units are typically 2-pipe or 4-pipe, which denotes the number of supply and return
pipes connected to each terminal unit. 2-pipe FCUs have a single supply and return, and
thus can only provide heating or cooling at one time, and require seasonal transitions
between energy production and rejection equipment if cooling is desired (American Society
of Heating Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, 2012). It is common to have electric
resistance backup coils in 2-pipe configurations to assist in shoulder season conditions when
the plant has been transitioned to cooling but heating is required to satisfy setpoint
temperatures. Four (4) pipe FCUs have independent supply and return piping for heating
and cooling water. This arrangement – while more capital cost intensive – is generally
preferable due to eliminating the need for seasonal transitions between plant equipment,
and added ability to provide heating and cooling to different zones at the same time during
shoulder seasons. In either case, each unit consists of a water-to-air heat exchanger and a
fan, and utilizes forced convection to condition space air.

Convectors utilize natural convection to deliver heat to a given space. As natural convection
is less effective at driving heat transfer than the forced convection achieved by the fans in
FCUs, convectors rely more heavily on high temperature differences between heating water
and space air, along with larger heat exchangers. As high temperate differences are more
easily achieved when heating than when cooling, and due to the requirement for
condensate drains for cooling coils, convectors are typically only used for heating.

Convectors can take the form of baseboard heaters, induction units (which require forced
air from a remote source), or radiators. Note, however, that baseboards and radiators are
the most common forms of convectors, and as convective heat transfer comprises the
majority of total heat transfer from radiators, both are essentially thermodynamically
equivalent.

Hydronic systems offer many advantages over air-based systems in that they can deliver the
same amount of heat while requiring significantly less space for distribution equipment, and
while consuming substantially less distribution energy than air-based systems due to the
higher heat capacity and density of water (Boldt & Keen, 2015). The terminal units still
require space within each conditioned zone however, which can have a negative impact on
aesthetics and acoustics in the case of FCUs.
Condensing natural gas boilers can be extremely efficient, with peak thermal efficiencies
reaching 97% and beyond (Charbonneau, 2011). However, boiler efficiency is highly
dependent on entering water temperature, that is, the temperature of the water returning
to the boiler from the supply loop. With FCUs and convectors, it is common to supply water
at temperatures of 70-80°C, with a loop delta T of 10-15°C. At these temperatures,
regardless of the peak rated efficiency of the boiler, condensing efficiencies will not be
achieved, and the system will operate in a non-condensing fashion with peak thermal
efficiencies around 80-85%. Modern engineering that favours energy efficiency would
design systems to ensure low return water temperatures. Reducing the water temperatures
would improve boiler efficiency, and may either require an increase in pumping energy or
larger plumbing. Furthermore, lower temperature differences between water and space air
will require larger terminal units and/or larger fans. Outdoor reset control systems for
boilers account for the much lower heat demand at warmer-than-design outdoor
temperatures by lowering supply water temperatures. Such controls can allow condensing
efficiencies during the vast majority of operating hours per year with no change in
distribution or terminal equipment.

Condensing efficiencies are therefore possible with FCUs and convectors if carefully
designed, but may be more expensive to achieve if larger sizes are required. Electric boilers
alleviate the boiler efficiency limitations. However, higher distribution losses will always be
expected with higher supply water temperatures.

Chillers are required if cooling is to be provided by fan coil units. There are many types of
chillers, but a common approach is to have a central water-to-water chiller which removes
heat from the closed building loop, and transfers it to an open loop connected to a cooling
tower.

Chiller efficiencies vary by type, but not all chillers are applicable for use in high-rise MURBs
as each type has a limited capacity range. Centrifugal chillers offer the highest efficiencies,
but require a higher minimum load than rotary chillers which are more common in
residential settings (Natural Resources Canada, 2002).

Capital costs tend to be comparable to other centralized systems requiring distribution pipe
installation, along with plant equipment and terminal units. Maintenance costs depend on
the type of energy production/rejection components selected, but natural gas boilers and
evaporative cooled chillers typically require moderate maintenance costs due to the
inherent degradation of combustion equipment, and the water treatment required in order
to prevent scale buildup in open loops.

Controls are moderately complex, as water temperature, flow rate, and air flow rate can be
modified in order to achieve the desired amount of space conditioning. Thermostats can
control temperatures at a suite level or at a zone level depending on the system
implementation, and often work by varying the amount of water circulated through the
terminal units from a central closed loop. FCUs can also vary the fan speed, which is often
controlled manually on the unit itself.

Water Source Heat Pumps and Ducted Fan Coil Units

Water source heat pumps and ducted fan coils represent a combination of hydronic fan coil
units and in-suite AHUs; both involve a single unit, located in each suite, which distributes
conditioned air to zones through ductwork as with all in-suite AHUs. However, rather than
having a furnace or air source heat pump, each AHU contains a hydronic fan coil or water
source heat pump which is connected to a central plant loop. In this way, water source heat
pumps have unique characteristics.

Both systems require a central boiler plant to create hot water, however only ducted fan
coils require a chiller as water source heat pumps can transfer heat from space air into the
closed recirculation loop as long as it is maintained within a fairly flexible temperature range
– a task which can be accomplished with a cooling tower and heat exchanger (Mather,
2015). Loop temperatures do have an impact on plant efficiencies, but both of these
systems are capable of operating at lower heating water temperatures.

Ducted fan coils require fewer units than having traditional FCUs located in every zone
served which does reduce capital costs, however the addition of supply ductwork and duct
losses must also be accounted for. Increased pressure drop from the ductwork will also
increase fan energy consumption. Water source heat pumps represent a cost premium over
ducted fan coils or traditional in-suite AHUs, but the lack of central chiller does reduce plant
equipment costs.

From an efficiency standpoint, water source heat pumps operate more like fan coil units
than air source pumps when heating because the boiler must still provide enough heat to
the hot water loop to meet the heating load. However, the ability to have more modest
water loop temperatures for heating and cooling will reduce distribution losses.

Radiant Panel Heating and Cooling

Radiant panel heating and cooling involves using very large terminal units, often concealed
in the building’s fabric, to provide space conditioning predominantly by means of radiant
heat transfer and natural convection between objects and occupants within the space.

Because of the nature of these systems, operative temperature becomes the dominant
control variable as opposed to air temperature. Furthermore, the radiant panels themselves
can operate at relatively low temperature differences with respect to the zone operative
temperatures due to the presence of large effective heat exchange areas. Radiant panels
can take many forms, depending on the energy source. Generally, electric resistance heating
elements or hydronic piping are imbedded into a cement screed or topping which is set on
top of a floor, wall, or ceiling structure. Metal panels suspended from, or embedded in, the
ceiling with hydronic tubing bonded to their backs, is another common terminal unit. In all
cases, insulation is required between the energy source and structure in order to ensure
heat only flows in one direction. Additionally, a low resistance, high emissivity outer surface
is necessary in order to ensure adequate radiative transfer between objects in the space and
the surface of the panel.

Radiant floors are commonly used for heating in order to take advantage of natural
convective currents. For these reasons, walls and ceilings do not function as effectively for
heating, and are mostly seen in cooling applications. Conversely, radiant floors are less
common in residential cooling applications, and are mostly reserved for large open rooms or
atriums with large glazing areas in order to directly control solar gains (Nall, 2013). The
effectiveness of radiant floors is commonly compromised by the presence of furniture and
floor coverings. Cooling slabs have the added complication that surface temperatures
cannot drop below the interior dew point in order to prevent condensation issues.

In locations where the practice of radiant heating is very established, such as Germany, it is
claimed that radiant floor heating is no more expensive than other hydronic systems such as
baseboard convectors (Olesen, 2002).
When heating, hydronic panels require relatively low supply water temperatures, which
enable high plant efficiencies when coupled with condensing natural gas boilers.
Additionally, as space mean radiant temperatures are higher, equivalent operative
temperatures can be achieved at lower air temperatures – a factor which can result in
energy savings, provided that the enclosure does not exert highly variable solar loads.
However, the surface temperature of radiant panels cannot exceed 30°C if occupant
thermal comfort is considered, and therefore radiant panel heating cannot provide more
than approximately 100 W/m2 of space heating (Olesen, 2002). For this reason, radiant
panel systems require high performance enclosure assemblies to reach their full potential.

Physically, radiant panels do increase the depth of the assemblies which they are
incorporated into, which can be difficult given the tight restrictions on floor height typical of
high-rise MURBs. However, their concealed nature results in no visible presence within the
zones they serve, little or no acoustic impact depending on recirculation pump operation,
and generally very low maintenance required at a zone level.

Radiant panels can be controlled a number of different ways depending on whether electric
resistance or hydronic systems are implemented. Hydronic systems can implement
recirculation pumps within each zone with a constant flow central loop, or a variable flow
central loop with suite control valves to regulate temperatures. In either event, radiant
panels must accommodate the thermal storage of the mass in structure-integrated panels,
which can increase perceived thermal comfort but renders the system slow to respond to
sudden changes in space loads.

Packaged Terminal Heat Pumps and Air Conditioners

Packaged terminal units incorporate energy production/rejection, distribution and delivery

equipment into one component. Packaged terminal air conditioners (PTACs) utilize direct
expansion cooling either independently or coupled with electric resistance heating, which is
delivered to the zone via a distribution fan which may also serve as the evaporator fan.
Packaged terminal heat pumps (PTHPs) are similar, except that the vapour compression
refrigeration cycle can be reversed to provide heating. In either event, the units are typically
mounted on exterior walls of perimeter zones, and are most popular in applications where
individual zone level control is required such as hotels or residences. PTACs provide cooling,
and PTHPs also provide heating. Dehumidification can also be provided indirectly when the
space is being actively cooled. Filtration of space air is achieved as well, but the level of
filtration is often only sufficient to protect heat exchange surfaces, not ensure air quality.
Some systems include the supply of outdoor air as well.

Packaged terminal units require an independent unit for every zone served, which may
mean 2 or more units per suite, depending on the layout and perimeter exposure. The
performance and capacity of air source heat pumps is diminished at lower outdoor air
temperatures, and may require electric resistance backup heating in cold climates.

Capital costs are dependent on the number of units required per suite. If only one unit is
necessary, PTACs and PTHPs can be a relatively low cost solution; however as the number of
units per suite increases, the cost will become less competitive. Maintenance is fairly simple,
but does require suite access.

Variable Refrigerant Flow Air Source Heat Pumps

Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) heat pumps employ fan coil units sometimes combined with
an outdoor ventilation air system, connected to a central outdoor unit by means of
refrigerant piping. In small scale residential applications, VRF systems are often referred to
as ductless split systems, mini-splits, or multi-splits (Roth, Westphalen, & Brodrick, 2006).
The fundamental concept is to use refrigerant directly as the thermal transport medium,
thus turning the indoor fan coil units into evaporator or condenser coils, which can improve
system efficiency. Furthermore, if heating and cooling is required simultaneously in different
zones within the same system, heat can be transferred between spaces with very little
energy input, resulting in very high system COPs.

VRF systems can be implemented with one outdoor unit per suite, or with upwards of 20
indoor units connected to one outdoor unit – resulting in one outdoor unit for every few
floors (Goetzler, 2007).The indoor units typically are fan coils with no air supply, but air can
be provided through ducted units provided a secondary dedicated outdoor air system
(DOAS) is present. A suite-by-suite approach would offer the application of currently
available residential multi-split systems, which could simplify installation and maintenance
(Lstiburek, 2006). However, centralized systems offer better system level efficiency as the
aforementioned part load case where heating and cooling are required simultaneously in
different zones will most likely occur on opposite elevations of a given MURB.
VRF systems often claim better part load performance than traditional direct expansion heat
pumps due to multistage, variable speed compression and fan performance. Furthermore,
many outdoor units are better suited to low temperature operation, with some still capable
of delivering 100% of the heating capacity available at 16°C at temperatures as low as -
20°C, and operation down to -25°C (Afify, 2008). Beyond those limitations, electric
resistance heating or a supplemental natural gas heating system is required.

Capital costs for VRF systems largely depend on industry familiarity, but in North America a
cost premium of 5-20% over traditional hydronic systems can be expected (Goetzler, 2007).
Maintenance costs would likely also be higher than conventional systems due to the added
complexity, and lack of widespread familiarity within the industry. VRF systems boast very
low electrical energy consumption compared to other system options, which will have
variable GHG implications depending on the electrical grid infrastructure for the buildings
location. However, there are hidden GHG implications which must also be considered; while
packaged heat pumps and chillers typically exhibit minimal refrigerant leakage over the
course of their service life, limited data is available for VRF systems.

The most comparable application utilizing large scale site-built refrigeration is grocery
stores, for which it is estimated 10-15% of the system refrigerant charge is lost annually
(Baxter, Fischer, & Sand, 1998). At these rates, even the recommended sustainable
refrigerant R-410a still poses significant GHG concerns as it has a global warming potential
1725 times that of carbon dioxide (Afify, 2008). Other refrigerants with lower global
warming potentials are available for the same applications as R-410a such as propane (R-
290) and R-123, but their adoption is not currently widespread (Critchley, 2011;
Lampugnani & Zgliczynski, 1996) Functionally, several different forms of indoor units exist
which can all be connected to the same outdoor unit. These include exposed and concealed
units, which can be wall mounted, ceiling mounted, or suspended. Each indoor unit offers
consistent zone level temperature control, with some limited filtration of suite air. Due to
the improved part load performance, more consistent thermal comfort can also be
achieved.

When installing VRF systems, vertical refrigerant pipe runs are limited (e.g. less than 60-150
feet for many models) which can pose difficulties for taller buildings (Afify, 2008). A
potential solution involves routing upper floor piping to roof mounted units with lower
floors routed to ground level units in the parkade or adjacent space, but this can only be
applied to a maximum of around 30 stories (Lstiburek, 2006). Outdoor units can also be
hung on the side of buildings, but this requires the architectural design to coordinate with
the mechanical design. Often for taller buildings, interstitial mechanical rooms are required,
with enclosure area for the air source condensing equipment.

Ground Source Heat Pumps

Ground source systems utilize a hydronic earth heat exchange loop coupled with some
combination of previously discussed systems to provide space conditioning. The building
systems will likely take one of the following three forms:

 A central water-to-water heat pump connected to the ground loop providing

heating or cooling water to in-suite hydronic terminal units such as radiant panels or
FCUs

 In-suite water source heat pumps which transfer heat directly to or from the central
ground water loop to suite air.

 A central water source VRF system coupled to the ground water loop

Earth heat exchange loops can either involve vertical bore holes or horizontal trenches.
Vertical bore holes are much more expensive, but require substantially less space and are
therefore often the only practical option for high density sites. As high-rise MURBs often are
situated in high density downtown areas, vertical bore holes are the only broadly applicable
configuration, often with the bore hole field located beneath the underground parking
garage.

Ground source heat pumps offer the distinct advantage over air source heat pumps in that
the ground temperature does not undergo significant annual variations. Furthermore, the
earth can act as a form of thermal storage, being charged during the cooling season and
drained during the heating season. Most climate zones of Canada and the northern United
States have much larger heating loads than cooling loads, so a truly seasonally balanced
system is unlikely.

However, as buildings strive for higher performance, the heating loads often drop more
quickly than the cooling loads, which mean that ground loops can become more closely
balanced. Capital costs vary depending on the building systems implemented, but the
drilling fees associated with creating the ground loop are fairly significant – particularly with
vertical bore holes located beneath taller high-rise MURBs. Drilling costs vary from 5-15 US
Dollars/foot depending on the type of earth, but higher costs can be expected for harder
rock – such as that found beneath downtown Toronto (S. Kavanaugh, 1998). In some cases,
the ground loop can be treated as a district energy system, paid for by utility companies
and billed monthly to condo owners at an amortized rate over the service life of the
building (S. P. Kavanaugh, 2016). Investigations into implementation of ground loops in
Toronto have demonstrated reasonable payback periods provided cooling is functionally
required (Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, 2002).

Ground loops offer higher efficiencies than air loops – particularly at lower outdoor air
temperatures – and can potentially provide energy savings of 20-50% over conventional air
source heat pumps (Cooperman, Dieckmann, & Brodrick, 2012). However, GSHPs do not
benefit from the economy of scale with respect to central plant efficiency, and tend to
favour smaller water source heat pumps (S. Kavanaugh, 1998). The project-specific and
often complex design of GSHPs requires more care than pre-packaged air source systems
and hence performance is highly dependent on the design choices made (especially with
regard to pump power, ground loop size, etc.).

Type 2: Indoor Air Quality Systems

Indoor air quality systems provide outdoor air in order to help address indoor air quality
requirements. The primary function served is ventilation, but some form of filtration,
humidity control, or air pressure control may also be addressed by these systems. All
occupied spaces, including the suites and corridors in high-rise MURBs require ventilation
air, and as such ventilation systems can address these locations with separate, independent
systems or with central combined systems. In either case, the fresh air requirements are
usually based on ASHRAE Standard 62.1. The delivery effectiveness (i.e. how well the system
delivers design airflow in normal operational conditions) varies depending on the system
configuration and has been shown to vary widely (Maxwell et al., 2014).

In-suite Heat Recovery and Enthalpy Recovery Ventilators

Heat recovery ventilators (HRVs) and enthalpy recovery ventilators (ERVs) are packaged
residential units which serve to provide balanced flow of ventilation air similar to a
commercial dedicated outdoor air system (DOAS). Both types of units employ heat recovery
to precondition incoming outdoor air with exhaust space air, while enthalpy recovery units
also provide latent moisture transfer between air streams.

HRVs and ERVs can be implemented in a number of ways, but when operated independently
of other mechanical systems, they are often simply located near the building enclosure and
connected to a large conditioned space such as the living room. In-suite distribution
ductwork adds additional cost, and is often only installed if also required for heating and
cooling functions. Without ductwork, the distribution effectiveness (the ratio of ventilation
air supplied to the breathing zone as compared to the total supply airflow rate) throughout
the suite is considered to be 0.5, while if connected to distribution ductwork through ceiling
bulkheads the value would increase to 0.8 (American Society of Heating Refrigerating and
Air-Conditioning Engineers, 2016). The value of 0.5 is to accommodate re entrainment
supply air in the exhaust air stream, whereas 0.8 is used for supply of warm air at a high
level.

Heat can be recovered from bathroom exhaust streams, but kitchen exhaust must always be
directly vented to the exterior to prevent build-up of organic contaminants on heat
exchange surfaces, which can block flow and pose fire safety concerns. Label efficiencies for
the exchange of heat or energy can reach 80% for high performance units. Sensible pre-
heating effectiveness extends the range of use by considering the heat addition to the air
stream from the fan energy.

In-suite HRVs and ERVs impose a cost premium over more traditional MURB ventilation
systems, but the low operational costs help mitigate some of these concerns. Maintenance
typically involves filter replacement, but more significant repairs surrounding heat
exchanger fouling is also possible. Regardless of the cause for maintenance, suite level
access is required, and even then the units themselves are often located in difficult to reach
areas.

Many studies have identified in-suite HRVs and ERVs as the best option for providing
ventilation air in high-rise MURBs, due to the direct connection to each suite, suite level
controls, and balanced air flows (Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, 2003; RDH
Building Sciences, 2005; Walsh Construction Co., 2011).

Floor-by-Floor or Central AHUs Providing Dedicated Outdoor Air

Floor-by-floor or central air handling units (AHUs) can be configured as dedicated outdoor
air systems (DOAS), and serve either just the corridors, or the corridors and suites. If
multiple suites are served by the same system, it is common practice to sub-duct the suites
in order to limit noise transfer and manage fire and smoke spread.

Central systems, with rooftop supply-only AHUs, are typically only used in corridor only
applications due to the difficulty and cost associated with installing supply and return
ductwork to and from every suite in a high-rise MURB to one central location. Floor-by-floor
based systems can be implemented in high-rise MURBs, with one AHU serving one or more
floors. Such systems can either just serve the corridors, or serve suites and corridors,
although the latter requires sub-ducting as previously described. Note that the floor on
which the unit is located often requires extra ceiling space in order to accommodate the
ductwork (Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, 2003). As high-rise MURBs are
often carefully sized to maximize zone height restrictions, adding additional building height
purely for mechanical systems is undesirable.

Both floor-by-floor and centralized systems offer easier maintenance than in-suite systems
and often can be built at a reduced capital cost (the central units are always cheaper per
unit of flow, but the cost of ductwork and fire/smoke dampers can become very significant).

Controls are no longer at a suite level, however, which can make it difficult to ensure proper
ventilation is provided to each suite as these systems are effected by wind pressures and
can be difficult to balance.

While both of these systems in theory can provide the same amount of ventilation air,
centralized systems do not typically allow for compartmentalization of suites, which can
lead to contaminant transfer due to complex 3-dimensional airflow networks between
ducts, hollow building spaces, and occupied spaces.

Supplemental heating and/or cooling capacity can be easily built into the central or floor-by-
floor AHUs to handle conditions where heat recovery alone is insufficient in providing air at
acceptable temperatures for occupant thermal comfort.
Pressurized Corridor Ventilation

Pressurized corridor ventilation systems are historically the most common way to ventilate
high-rise MURBs, and are still typical of modern construction despite the many documented
performance issues and underlying conceptual design flaws associated with them
(Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, 2003; Handegord, 2001; Ricketts, 2014). The
basic concept involves supplying air from central rooftop MAUs through vertical supply air
ducts to every corridor. It is assumed that the ventilation air provided to the corridors will
enter the suites through door undercuts or cross-over ducts. Unlike the previously discussed
ventilation systems, pressurized corridor systems are incapable of incorporating heat
recovery due to the lack of return ductwork, and instead must condition all outdoor air
directly. Functionally, pressurized corridor systems provide the correct amount of outdoor
air to the building, but studies have shown that delivery of ventilation air to the suites is
very unreliable and highly affected by wind and stack pressures (Ricketts, 2014). The lack of
compartmentalization can allow for air transfer between building areas, including between
underground parking and suites, or corridors and garbage rooms.

Due in part to industry familiarity, and the minimal ductwork required, pressurized corridor
systems boast low capital and maintenance costs when compared to other ventilation
systems while serving both the suites and corridors. Operational costs will inherently be
much higher, however, as no form of heat recovery can be implemented, and controls
typically require 24/7 operation at a constant volume. However, it is difficult to compare
costs to other systems since pressurized corridor systems rarely reliably ventilate each suite
in a building.

The National Energy Code of Canada for Buildings (NECB) states that heat recovery
ventilation is optional in Vancouver or Toronto, but in Edmonton pressurized corridor
systems without heat recovery do not meet the energy code requirements.

The pressure created across suite doors can make opening and closing of any doors
connected to the corridor difficult. Additionally, noise and odour transfer from corridors to
suites can be significant due to the necessity of door undercuts.